Buda Castle is one of the most visited attractions in Budapest. The question is if you can visit it during the Christmas holidays, how are the opening hours in December, especially around Dec 24 – 26, when several attractions are closed during the Christmas public holidays.

Buda Castle in winter – Neil Howard Photography

The good news is that the courtyards of the Buda Castle are always open. Regardless of what season, what time of the hour, or what holidays we are in. The courtyards are not closed off with a fence, so you can take a stroll along the building, visit its courtyards, take a photo of the beautiful statues (don’t miss the Matthias Well, a fantastic statue composition), like the lions on the Lions’ Courtyard, the statue of Eugene Savoya on the Savoya Terrace, the Hunyadi Courtyard with its characteristic Hungarian wrangler statue, etc.

It is a nice romantic walk on the cobblestones of the courts, and on a sunny winter day, you can get beautiful sharp photos, while on cloudy, snowy days, your photos will seem more dramatic. Moreover, you can wander around the Castle District and the Buda Castle courts free of charge, as only the entrance into the buildings is fee paying.

To get an idea of how the inner courts and buildings are arranged in the Buda Castle take a look at this simplified map of the Buda Royal Palace (green lawns, rectangular buildings and sand colored courts):